What’s Worse Than Flying to Afghanistan?

The other day, CNN.com posted a fascinating story about a guy who traveled the world using the most dangerous methods of transportation possible. Carl Hoffman went out of his way to fly on airlines with questionable safety records, like Cubana and Ariana (the national airlines of Cuba and Afghanistan, respectively). He also went on crowded ferries in Asia, where the complimentary meal was a fish tail, and sat in crowded buses speeding around cliffs in South America.

Though Hoffman may sound like a daredevil, his reason for going on these death-defying journeys wasn’t for the thrill or the adrenaline rush. His mission was to experience how people all over the world get from place to place. Though we may wonder why anyone would want to ride on a crowded bus for 28 hours, for some people, that’s their only way to get around.

As interesting as this may be, you’re probably wondering why I would include such a story on a blog about New Jersey. Well, that’s because of one of the answers Hoffman gave to CNN in his interview. When asked how he felt flying with an airline with poor safety records, Hoffman responded as such:

“Even on really bad — statistically bad — airlines, the death rate is really much lower than, say, driving on the New Jersey Turnpike.”

Someone who made it his mission to travel the world in the most dangerous ways possible still had something bad to say about the Turnpike. I would think that after experiencing the transportation methods of the third world, one would have a much better appreciation for the Turnpike. Apparently, the opposite is true. The national airline of Afghanistan is safer than the highways of the Armpit of America.

One Comment on “What’s Worse Than Flying to Afghanistan?”

I think this guy was either full of shit or he was joking about the NJTP and the death tolls (pun intended). Hard to see how a few deaths on the Pike compared to millions of people driving it every year can be statistically higher than a few deaths on a third world plane when only thousands ride them every year. Get my drift?